Can-filling machine.



H. n. STICKNEY.

CAN FILLING MACHINE.

(Application filed Dec. 8, 1899.)

Patented may I, 1900.

(No Model.)

Fig.2.

"Witnesses: 1 rwenltor:

I v. W K. Q xm/flw THE "Gums PEFERS cq. PHOYO-LITHO.. wnsnmu'rou. o. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT Grates.

HENRY R. STIC K NEY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

CAN-=FILLING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 648,538, dated May .1,1900.

Application filed December 6, 1899. Serial No. 739,452. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY R. ST'IOKNEY, a citizen of the United Statesof America, and a resident of Portland, Cumberland county, State ofMaine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can FillingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machines for filling cans, particularly thoseused for green vegetables, such as peas, baked beans, and other likesubstances; and the invention consists in the novel combination of partsherein described and claimed.

I illustrate my invention by means of the accompanying drawings, whichrepresent a machine as I prefer to construct it.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an end elevation with a portion in section.Fig. 2 is a part side elevation and part section on thelines {B 00 ofFig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a top view of the canfeeding lever.

the discharge-opening by means of a winged. plston O, havlng a hub 0Which is journaled in the cylinder, and each wing of this piston has onthe outer edge a segmental flange c, which fits the internal surface ofthe cylinder and extends,as here shown, ninety degrees one way from eachedge of the piston in the opposite direction from the motion of thepiston. Thus the advancing face of each wing is unobstructed, while theretreating portion of each wing forms a pocket, which constitutes oneside of the measuring-space in which the charge is contained. It will beunderstood that two charges are received from the hopper and deliveredto the discharge-opening at each revolution of the piston. The extent ofthe measuring-space is regulated or graduated by means ofa diaphragm (1which is pivoted to the hub of the winged piston C. This diaphragm fillsthe space from the hub to the.

inner surface of the flange, and it may be swung back and forth tograduate the extent of the operative filling-space. It is held in placeby set-screws (1 Means are provided for discharging syrup through thehub of the piston when the material is passing through thedischarge-opening. For this purpose I provide a liquid-supply pipe (1,which extends into the hub of the piston O to a point at or near thecenter of the cylinder, and it is there provided with a port 61, adaptedto discharge downward. The liquid-supply pipe is connected with areservoir containing syrup. In the hub of the piston and immediatelyforward of each wing is a port 0, adapted to register with the port (1when the piston reaches the discharging-point. The piston G is fixed onthe end of a short shaft d, which extends through one of the flanges,and on the shaft is a sprocket-wheel (i receiving power from asprocket-chain Z, which connects with the sprocket-wheel 0 on the maindriving-shaft n, said shaft being journaled in the frame F of themachine.

Below the discharge-opening b is a filling hopper or nozzle E, soconstructed that it may be agitated while the machine is in operation.With this end in view I pivot'the hopper to the frame of the machine bymeans of an arm (2, which extends horizontally forward. Secured to aprojection c on the opposite side of the hopper from the arm 6, as hereshown, is a projection e, to which is secured a supporting-bar f. Thebar f extends horizontally out to a point outside of the frame and thenturns down at right anglesand rests 011 top of a horizontally-disposedpawl g, the end of which engages the gear h, which acts as aratchet-wheel to reciprocate the pawl. It will be seen that as the gearturns the pawl will be rapidly moved up and down and the filling-hopperwill be shaken. In order to prevent this hopper from clogging, I formits interior surfaces convex in a vertical direction, thus preventingthe formation of natural arches, which tend to clog the hopper, and Ihave found in practice that this is an important feature of the machine.The gear 71. is operated by a pinion m on the shaft n.

The cans I are fed to the filling-hopper normally out of line with thespout and reciprocates horizontally beneath its lower end, pushing onecan forward while the next can above is resting on its upper surface,then drawing back and allowing the latter can to drop down, and so on.

The lever K is here shown as bifurcated, having two downward-extendingarms, the lower ends of which are pivoted to the machine, with a flathead 70', adapted to swing immediately beneath the lower end of thespout, moving forward in the line of the guideway just the diameter ofone can and withdrawing out of line with the spout, so as to letthecolumn of cans drop down. The lever K is reciprocated by means of apitman j, connected with a crank t on the gear h, and

a slot 70 is provided in the lever for regulat-' ing the point ofattachment of the pitman and the extent of the throw of the lever.

From what has been said the operation of the machine is evident. As thepiston O tu rns the material which is being filled into the cans dropsfrom the supply-hopper into the space between the straight face of eachwing and the diaphragm (1 a greater or less portion of the flange cprojecting. into the forward portion of said space, according to thecharge to be put in each can. When this flange reaches thedischarge-opening, it uncovers the same and lets the material drop intothe filling-hopper, and when the charge is nearly or quite out of thecylinder the port 0 registers with the port dvand a quantity of syrup isforced in, washing out the cylinder and carrying down any material whichmay have been left behind.

It will be observed that the filling-space in thecylinder is generallywedge shape and so formed that the material drops easily from thecylinder.

The machine can be readily adjusted to fill cans of differentcapacities. It is simple and rapid and is particularly designed tohandle material of the character described-4. e., green peas, beans, &c.

It will be understood that before each charge is dropped into thefilling-hopper one of the cans is fed forward to a position below thehopper by the mechanism before described, and when the can is filled itis pushed along by the coming can, and so on indefinitely.

I claim- 1. Inacan-filling machine, the combination of a hopper, ahorizontallydisposed cylinder connected therewith, a rotating Wingedpiston journaled on said cylinder, a liquid-supply pipe within thejournal of said piston having a downward-discharge port, the hub of saidpiston being provided with ports adapted to register with the port ofsaid liquid-discharge pipe and a discharge-opening in the lower portionof said cylinder.

2. In a can-filling machine, the combination of a hopper, afilling-cylinder connected therewith moving a discharge-opening afillinghopper beneath said discharge-opening pivoted at one side to theframe of the machine, a supporting-bar secured to the other side of thefilling-hopper a pawl on which said supporting-bar rests and a toothedgearor ratchet tating said filling-hopper.

3. In a can-filling machine, the combination of a guideway for guiding arow of cans, a

' vertical can-feeding spout for dropping the cans into said guideway, avertically-disposed can-feeding lever pivoted by its lower end belowsaid spout, a head rigidly secured to the upper end of saidlever andbeing adapted to swing immediately below the end of the spout and inline with said guideway so that as one can is pushed forward by the headthe upper surface thereof forms a rest for the can in the spout, the candropping into its place when the head is swung backward, and means forreciprocating the lever.

4:. In acan-filling machine, the combination of a guideway for guiding arow of cans, a vertical can-feeding spout for dropping the cansinto saidguideway, a vertically-disposed can-feeding lever pivoted by its lowerend below said spout the upper end or head of said lever being rigidlysecured thereto and adapted to swing immediately below the end of saidspout and in line with said guideway so that as one can is pushedforward by the head, the upper surface thereof forms a rest for the canin the spout, the said can dropping into the guideway when the head isswung backward, the upper surface of said head being in the form of acylindrical segment with the pivoting-point of the lever as a center,andmeans for .reciprocating said lever.

' HENRY R. STIOKNEY.

Witnesses:

'S. W. BATES,

L. M. GODFREY.

for rapidly reciprocating said pawl and agi-

